Samuel Bambir Annan
Abstract
Preceptorship is an approach to teaching and learning that pairs nursing students with experienced practitioners to assist students in meeting specific learning objectives in the clinical setting. Myrick (2005).The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of preceptorship in the training of nurses and midwives in the Central Region of Ghana, the study adopted the descriptive design. 100 respondent at Cape Coat Teaching Hospital (CCTH) and Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Cape Coast were selected as participants for the study. A questionnaire was used. Respondents were students and preceptors.Data collected were analyzed with the help of SPSS version 20. Hand tabulation procedure and graphical presentation was used to tabulate the response of the respondents into percentages The findings of this study indicate that evaluation of students‟ clinical performance is a significant responsibility that can be both challenging and time consuming. It is complex, demanding and labour intensive. Evidence from the study showed that preceptors and clinical instructors do not acquire adequate training to perform their role. They should therefore be adequately prepared in order to be fit for their purpose. The study indicates that assessment of performance could be difficult because of the infinite number of factors that influence the process, factors include the number of students, time constraints, and busy schedules of preceptors, inadequate preparation and lack of technical know-how in evaluating students. It also indicates that there are no proper guidelines to assist clinical nurse educators on how to effectively teach and supervise student nurses. Again, there are no structural guidelines on when to perform a formative and summative clinical evaluation of nursing students. Challenges are not adequately teach, guide, supervise and evaluate student nurses during clinical placements, thus potentially reducing their effectiveness as educators.